Feed: Difference between revisions
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|<small>These are the fibrous parts left over from food crops. For example straw is left over from wheat and rice plants. Ruminants can digest fiber and use it as a source of calories. Non-ruminants cannot.</small> | |<small>These are the fibrous parts left over from food crops. For example straw is left over from wheat and rice plants. Ruminants can digest fiber and use it as a source of calories. Non-ruminants cannot.</small> | ||
|- | |- | ||
|'''Grass''' | |'''Grass & leaves'''<br />(pasture) | ||
|No | |No | ||
|'''Yes''' | |'''Yes''' | ||
|<small>60% of all farmland is already pasture | |<small>60% of all farmland is already pasture; and that doesn't even include rangelands.</small> | ||
|} | |} |
Revision as of 11:36, 26 August 2023
Myth: Farm animals eat mostly stuff that humans can't eat.
Fact:
- Chickens and pigs don't.
- Cows, sheep and goats can, but this alone can't produce enough meat & milk to meet global demand. Hence the meat & dairy industry also depends on feeding human-edible food to animals.
- See below for details:
Can it be digested and absorbed by | Notes | ||
Non-ruminants such as humans, chickens, pigs |
Ruminants such as cows, sheep, goats | ||
Products such as grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts |
Yes | Yes | The grains fed to animals are the same grains that could be ground into flour and used in baking. This includes corn. |
By-products such as wheat germ, molasses, soybean meal |
Yes | Yes | By-products often contain more nutrients than the main products! [read more]When wheat is processed into white flour, nutrient-rich wheat germ is left behind.Note: It's called "germ" because it was the part of the grain that germinates; it has nothing to do with infectious "germs". When sugarcane or beets are processed into white sugar, mineral-rich molasses is left behind. When soybeans are processed to make soybean oil, protein-rich soybean meal is left behind. Soybean meal is 52% protein, and it can be ground into soy flour and used in baking. |
Crop residues such as peanut shells, straw, husks empty corn cobs |
No | Yes | These are the fibrous parts left over from food crops. For example straw is left over from wheat and rice plants. Ruminants can digest fiber and use it as a source of calories. Non-ruminants cannot. |
Grass & leaves (pasture) |
No | Yes | 60% of all farmland is already pasture; and that doesn't even include rangelands. |